MetroTech Center

Brooklyn, New York

In downtown Brooklyn, as Polytechnic University contemplated abandoning its longtime campus, the City looked to new public-private models for center city redevelopment and retaining key institutions and industries. One of the most successful of these efforts was MetroTech, a 4.7M sf redevelopment that has been cited for its success by Senator Charles Schumer.

EE&K’s masterplan for MetroTech brought together academic and business interests within the existing street grid, establishing a remarkable set of public environments that, according to the Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, “redefined Downtown Brooklyn.” This masterplan was accompanied by a detailed set of guidelines to address street-level treatment, materials, and massing.

At the heart of MetroTech is MetroTech Commons, a 3-1/2 acre oasis of green that serves as both the Polytechnic campus and a focus for commercial office development. As New York City’s largest privately owned public space, it has become a venue for festivals, concerts, and graduation ceremonies alike. MetroTech’s success has spurred an additional one million square feet of development in downtown Brooklyn; according to Crain’s, “It is not an exaggeration to say that MetroTech saved the borough’s economy.”